Chapter 13: Meditation and the Sword

Waking up the next morning involved going through what was fast becoming routine. Ice-cold water for washing was just as unpleasant as it had been the previous day and I decided the the water-heating skill better be something I learnt very soon.

We started out the day's training schedule the same as the day before with a two hour run. Finger Roberts spent just as much time imparting his knowledge as the previous day. The one big difference was that he showed us how to move tactically while moving through the forest so we found ourselves running in formation and not on the pathways. The formation of choice, we were told, was the 'Arrow' which involved two people out to either flank in line with a third who ran on the path. The rest were in single-file about thirty meters back on the path. The reason for this formation was that the arrow-head would hit contact with the enemy first, and the 'shaft' would remain free to react without being caught in any ambush. This all made sense to me from the immediate-action drills I knew from before. The big difference though was one that I didn't consider until it was pointed out to me: there was no provision made to counter projectile weapons. It was Desrae who brought this up.

"Cy," she asked, "what happens if someone has a bow-and-arrow? They could just pick us off one by one."

That caught me. I realised that I had simply assumed that with no rifles, the projectile threat didn't exist.

"I dunno Des, lemme ask."

"[Finger, we were wondering about projectile weapons. It seems you don't give them any thought?]"

"[True. We don't. It's because a well functioning team, from a finger up in size, generates a shield against projectiles automatically. That's another of those things that you will find developing automatically as a consequence of growing personal skill, but more importantly, a growing sense of 'team' and bonding.]"

"[Thanks Finger.]"

"[Don't get complacent about that though. The shield is something that you will have to be aware of as part of the functioning of the team. If you find yourselves operating on your own, or seperated from the rest of the finger, then you become vulnerable to any projectile weapon; even a thrown rock."

At the end of our run, Finger Roberts sat us down and demonstrated a meditation position and explained the technique to us. He told us that this was the best way to focus on mental disciplines and develop those skills, but also how it would assist with the ability to fight.

Finger Roberts encouraged us to talk about this. During the discussion I mentioned that durng a 'contact' in my previous experience, I had felt a sense of time dilation, with everything slowing down around me. Finger Roberts latched onto that and told us that we needed to develop two different skills; one was to speed up our thought processes during battle - to create the time dilation effect - and the other was to guide and enhance the body's fighting ability.